Ask an Expert: Judy Goddess
Using California School Law To Advocate For Your Kids

Our son is breezing through middle school with a 3.9 GPA while playing sports and competing in the science fair. He wants much more challenge next year in high school. Unfortunately, he wasn't selected in the lottery for the charter school that's our best local high school. I went to college at age 16 and do not want to put my son in that situation. Must our district provide an accelerated program? What must the state do for us, if anything, and what must we do for ourselves?

This is a difficult situation. The most a school district can or should do is provide AP (advanced placement) classes, allow homeschooling or independent study, offer an intra- or interdistrict transfer to a more challenging high school, encourage a bright student to take courses at the community college, or enable a student to graduate from high school early. To arrange for anything else for your son, you will need to operate outside of the public school setting. So let's look more closely at your options.

After your son demonstrates that he can easily complete the work in regular classes, he should be able to enroll in AP courses. Aware that many inner-city schools did not offer more rigorous AP classes, the California Department of Education has recently begun to encourage all high schools to offer a minimum of at least four AP classes. So there should be something available at your son's school. I must caution you that I've never heard of AP classes admitting freshmen, but that doesn't mean it could never happen.

If you homeschool your son, you can provide or arrange for the enrichment he needs. Obviously the kind of homeschooling your son requires would demand your significant involvement. The HomeSchool Association of California ([888] HSC-4440 and www.hsc.org) can help you plan a program.

Independent study in one or more subjects is also an option. Independent study courses can take a variety of forms: work with a tutor, an internship, travel, or homeschooling. The course must cover the regular curriculum plus any enrichment opportunities (library research, work experience, etc.) that you and your school agree upon.

Be persistent about transfer requests to another high school. Maintain your pressure at the placement office of the school you'd like your son to attend. Vacancies do occur. Most schools will allow a student to enroll at a community college, although the district does lose some funding in these cases. You need to ask your son's counselor or principal for a special form in order to enroll (it's called the Advanced Placement form and is specifically for high school students applying to community colleges, and not to be confused with AP classes given in high schools).

Your son may also take the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHPSE) to complete his high school education early. Mandatory high school attendance is waived for any student who passes the CHPSE. Of course he could then attend college, but he may also decide to pursue another interest for a while — for example, a job, travel, or even study abroad.

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